Jim - Good to hear you are considering Riverdale Park for your move. I've lived here for six years now and have been happily commuting on the MARC all of that time. You are right that the trains run less frequently than Metro, certainly - only 4 trains to DC in the morning and 4 trains home in the evening. There are a couple of express trains that bypass our station but stop at College Park, which does come in handy sometimes as well. <br>
<br>College Park Metro and PG Plaza Metro are equidistant from the RP MARC station. (You may be unaware of one of Riverdale Park's well-kept secrets (<i>Shhhh!)</i>: We
have a secret back way from the MARC Station/Town Center to College Park
Metro - technically it runs through a University parking lot and so
doesn't show up on most GPS's but it does in fact operate as a street.
By that route it's about 1 mile exactly from the MARC station to CP
Metro, which is about the same distance as PG Plaza Metro). <br><br>So if the MARC schedule doesn't work for you, you have two metro stations you can walk to (or drive to). You can also bus to PG Plaza pretty conveniently (the F4 runs about every 20 minutes, and there's also PG County "The Bus" #13 that runs maybe every 30 minutes. Technically you can take the PG County "The Bus" #13 to College Park Metro, but it takes a circuitous route to get there). Another well-kept secret. If you do have a monthly MARC pass, you can ride the buses for free! <br>
<br>You can also bike to College Park with the assurance that your bike will be safe while you're at work - they have a new, fancy, enclosed and secure bike parking area that costs only 50c a day. <br><br>There are a lot of people who walk to PG Plaza Metro along Queensbury Rd., including some from our town (many more from Hyattsville, of course). I'm sure you would hear a wide variety of opinions on the safety of that commute if everybody with an opinion spoke up. My opinion is that during daylight hours, absolutely no problem whatsoever. Of course in the winter months, you would be walking in darkness. Personally I wouldn't hesitate to do it, certainly within normal commuting hours. <br>
<br>One thing that is true now but certainly wasn't in 2006 when I moved here: Commuting via MARC (if you buy and use a monthly pass)+Metro to DC is cheaper than parking at the Metro and riding, and is only slightly more expensive than walking to the Metro and riding all the way. Clearly this has not gone unnoticed, as ridership from our RP MARC station has increased markedly. I have an odd habit of counting heads as we board the train in the morning. Until maybe 18 months ago, I had never counted more than 13 getting on a train here; now it's an unusual day when there are as few as 13. My current record is 24. I think this is likely due to both the competitive cost advantage of the commute (parking at our MARC station is also free, and people drive from as far as Cheverly and DC to catch the MARC train at Riverdale) and the fact that we've had a significant influx of new families in the area. I think the average age of MARC passengers boarding here has probably dropped by 20 years in the last 2 or 3 years! As a 60-something wanting our community to grow and prosper, I can tell you that is a good thing!<br>
<br>The commute and convenience of the MARC are not the only reasons to live here, of course. We enjoy many aspects of small town living with an increasing number of urban conveniences. And then there's the farmers market (April thru Thanksgiving, Thursdays 3- 7; and a smaller version indoors same time, at the Town Center Market store at Queensbury & Lafayette) which is one of, if not thee best in the area. It's more than a market - it's a community happening. <br>
<br>As for Cafritz, I'm going to bow out on this one and anticipate that our town councilman Jonathan Ebbeler will give us an update, in response to your question. I, for one, certainly hope and anticipate that it will move forward but there are no doubt bumps in the road ahead, and I'm sure that delays are the rule rather than the exception. I wouldn't expect to go shopping up there before 2016, but that's just me. Let's see what Jonathan says! ( We're still waiting on our trolley trail bike line (that will connect Franklin's, Busboys & Poets and points south to our town center and then on to College Park and points north) which has been under discussion since we moved here and is now all approved and budgeted and put out for bids - hopefully that will get done once the weather breaks in the Spring. )<br>
<br>Dwight Holmes <br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Jan 6, 2013 at 8:07 AM, Jim Kenney <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kenney.jim@gmail.com" target="_blank">kenney.jim@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Hi - I'm relocating this Spring and considering Riverdale Park as an option. My partner and I would be buying a house and commuting to DC for work.<br>
<br>
I'm posting here to get some information on a couple things about the community.<br>
<br>
- Status of the redevelopment of the Cafritz Development. The last post I saw on the RethinkCollegePark blog suggests it is up in the air still as to whether it is going forward (See<br>
<a href="http://rethinkcollegepark.net/blog/2012/7119/" target="_blank">http://rethinkcollegepark.net/blog/2012/7119/</a>). If its going forward, when will it get started?<br>
<br>
- Commuting to DC - MARC train or Greenline. What do most people take? MARC train is walkable but runs less frequent. Is the Greenline at PG plaza walkable and safe in the morning and evening?<br>
<br>
Any insights would be greatly appreciated.<br>
Thanks,<br>
Jim<br>
<br>
<br>
Sent from my iPad<br>
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